Let’s talk about my penis. Once you’ve stopped vomiting, I’ll continue. I am circumcised. When I was a baby, my parents put me in the hands of a man who cut off part of my genitalia — the nerve-rich organ around the head of the penis called the foreskin.

When their firstborn son came into the world, my parents didn’t bat an eye at the notion of a stranger surgically altering my penis forever. I find that deeply disturbing.

If you don’t understand why, let’s look at the other side of the equation: female circumcision. In some corners of the world, young women have their clitorises severed for any number of reasons — godliness, cleanliness or a sign of maturity.

The United Nations and World Health Organization call it “female genital mutilation.” They won’t even acknowledge it as a valid medical procedure. It’s just barbarism to them.

I think most Americans would — and should — agree. There’s no compelling reason to inflict that kind of suffering on a young woman, yet it’s acceptable — even expected — to inflict it on a young boy.

Circumcision got its start as a religious ritual. Without the foreskin to heighten sexual pleasure, sex would become less interesting, and men would dedicate themselves to scripture.

But this is America! Separation of church and state! Freedom to choose! Pizza Hut and Starbucks!

How did circumcision take hold here in the U.S.? Let me begin answering that question with a question: Who here has seen The Road to Welville? Sir Anthony Hopkins is almost unrecognizable as the health nut, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, the same man who made the cereal.

The actual Kellogg was a terrifying piece of work. This was a man who hated masturbation so much that he advocated the following: tying a child’s hands behind his or her back so that he or she could not masturbate at night, applying cage-like devices to the genitals, and rubbing acid on a girl’s clitoris, thus demonizing not just the act of masturbation, but its allure. He also believed circumcision should be performed without anesthetic so as to maximize the association of sexual arousal with physical pain.

It was this man — a man who could give Freddy Krueger nightmares — who became a linchpin in making circumcision a widely-practiced tradition in the United States.

But, let’s give Kellogg the benefit of the doubt. Even if he was 10 pounds of crazy in a 1-pound bag, I’m sure you’ve all heard that men with foreskin are prone to infections.

There’s actually a very simple solution to that concern. It’s called hygiene. Look it up.

If you never wash behind your ears or between your toes, your body is going to become a hotbed for all sorts of gnarly germs.

The idea that circumcision significantly reduces STI transmission is still a hotly-debated issue in the medical community. There have some saying foreskin is practically an HIV net, while others state there’s no difference between men who have it and men who don’t, and further studies show intact men with decreased HIV rates. [The circumcised U.S., for example, has significantly higher numbers of HIV than any other intact developed nation.] Even the experts don't always agree if each other’s methods or conclusions are sound.

Failing that, we have to fall back on good old common sense. Do you not want to get sick? Take a bath. Eat right. Wear a condom.

These are not mind-blowing or revolutionary concepts. Most people don’t go out of their way to do what is bad for themselves.

When you’re wounded, you don’t go jam the gaping wound into a septic tank, do you? Let’s not do that to our sons by slicing their penises and shoving that mess into a diaper.

If I ever have a son — and let’s be honest, that would be a disaster — I would lose him in a heartbeat if I took him to a tattoo parlor or a piercing place. A baby covered in tats and gauges would be hilarious, sad and illegal. The law would keep its pimp hand strong by slapping me with at least half a dozen child abuse charges. So, I’m not going to go the extra mile by letting someone mutilate his penis.

You’re not going to give your newborn a cosmetic nose job, are you?

You may be thinking, “The grass is always greener on the other side,” and maybe you’re right. Maybe I would be embarrassed to have it. Maybe I wouldn’t mind it at all. Maybe I'd actually like it.

I have no way of knowing because no one ever gave me the opportunity to know. That choice was made for me when I was a small, defenseless baby who had no way of stopping a doctor from harming me in a way that would normally make us cringe.

Data is self-reported by respondent. Children in the Q1/2008-Q4/2008 National Immunization Survey were born between January 2005 and June 2007. Margin of error is within 1% - 8% of stated figures.

Sources:

Estimated Vaccination Coverage with Individual Vaccines and Selected Vaccination Series Among Children 19-35 Months of Age by State -- U.S., National Immunization Survey, Q1/2008-Q4/2008.

National Immunization Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available Here.

Definitions:

For the purpose of this dataset, immunized children are those who receive 4:3:1:3:3, which is four or more doses of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, three or more doses of poliovirus vaccine, one or more doses of any measles containing vaccine (MCV), three or more doses of Haemophilius Influenza type B (Hib), and three or more doses of hepatitis B vaccine (HepB).

With your littlebirdie mouthAnd your tinypucker lipsYou root and turnand tip and searchFor what youseek - the nips!And in this darkand dreamy landSlumbering cozyin our nestThe whole outsideworld is forgottenWhile you and Isnuggle down in rest.

Article and first image from Tadpoles & Butterfliesposted with permissionThis positioning applies to any carrier – ring sling, pouch, wrap, mei tai & soft structured (buckle) carriers and to babies of all ages. If the carrier does not allow for this positioning, it is not a suitable carrier. Older babies/toddlers should be carried in this same general position on your hip or your back.

We recommend ensuring that your baby is generally positioned in your carrier as follows:

~ Vertically, on your chest, with baby’s bum at or above your navel
~ Knees above bum, in a frog legged or M position
~ Spine rounded
~ Head turned to the side, with baby’s chin well above his chest to avoid closure of the airway
~ The fabric of the carrier needs to be properly tightened to support your baby in this position. Fabric should be spread from one knee to the other and must not block the baby’s mouth or nose in any way.

You may notice that the manufacturer’s instructions provided with your carrier suggest positioning that does not meet these requirements - forward facing or cradle positions specifically. We recommend against wearing your baby in either of those positions.

Research consistently shows that when babies are held vertically, skin to skin, on a parent’s chest, their heart rate, respiratory rate & temperature are regulated.* Additionally, they cry less, breastfeed more effectively, and develop quicker and more optimally.* Dr Nils Bergman, a physician and scientist who has extensively studied the beneficial practice of keeping babies in their natural habitat (vertically, between their mother's breasts), says, "The baby is in the right place and therefore has the right behavior."

The cradle and the forward facing positions continue to be taught by some manufacturers and educators, but we recommend you avoid using these positions because they make it difficult to position the baby safely for oxygen flow (respiration), are ergonomically incorrect (spinal alignment) for the baby, as well as the wearer (back pain) and appear to contribute to breastfeeding problems for some.

Babywearing is a wonderful tool that gives babies the minimum they expect - to be carried by their mother. It is also a learned skill that requires a bit of background knowledge to safely perform. For most of human history, girls learned to effectively wrap and sling their baby from all the mothers (and grandmothers) around them. Today, many new mothers in North America must learn from scratch. But practice makes perfect and babywearing soon becomes a breeze - making life much easier on mom and healthy for baby. Please be certain to learn safe wrap styles to wear your little one.
Additional Babywearing Resources Linked Here
Facebook Babywearing Safety Page

DrMomma Preface: Please note that "healthy dirt" is not the same as fecal matter or contaminated raw meat which the body cannot develop an immunity for and are often filled with bacteria that are not beneficial to consume in any amount. There is a difference between letting kids 'get dirty' playing around (even putting it in their mouth) and not worrying about keeping the house spotless vs. having contaminated raw meats and fecal droppings where babies and small children can become infected. So continue to wash your hands well after changing a poopy diaper or using the restroom. Clean up the counter and your hands after handling raw meats. And go romp around at the park or the beach - but be sure to pick up after your dog! ;)

Danelle's son, 9 months old, helping to weed the raspberry patch on a hot and sticky day

I don’t know how to say this without sounding crazy, so I’m just going to be blunt. When I was a child, I liked to eat pebbles and stones. Well, technically I didn’t eat them, just sucked on them. Yes, I was a closet rock sucker. Away from the judging eyes of friends and family, I secretly relished their earthy, mineral flavor.

I’m sure, like any mother, my own mom would have been considerably horrified at the idea of her small child sucking on dirty rocks from God knows where. And, while my strange appetite persisted from about ages 4-7, almost all parents have witnessed their younger babies or toddlers shove an ample handful of dirt or sand into their mouths. Probably on more than one occasion.

What is it about kids and dirt? Why the deep mysterious magnetism? According to Mary Ruebush, PhD, author of Why Dirt is Good: 5 Ways to Make Germs Your Friends, the attraction is for our own human good. And, the great news is, it’s a match made in heaven. Just like any other muscle in our body, the immune system needs to be exercised in order to fully develop and become strong enough to resist illness and disease. Eating dirt as a child turns out to be the ideal training to build your immune system’s overall fitness.

We’ve written about the Hygiene Hypothesis and the overuse of antimicrobials in the past, but Ruebush, professor of microbiology and immunology for Kaplan Medical, really brings it home. Her detailed description of the immune system is not only extremely informative, it’s also surprisingly entertaining. Really! She has these delightfully silly pictures of blood cells and bacteria that had my kids peering over my shoulder, giggling, and asking what the book was about. And, the writing is equally as comedic and engaging. She writes about viruses gettin’ busy making baby viruses, macrophages burping up crumbs of their meals, and T-cells going to school and taking final exams.

The main points of the book are simple: let kids eat dirt and don’t overuse antibiotics. According to Ruebush:

Mother Nature has given you the elements to build a strong immune system, but you have to put it into action and take care of it. A strong immune system gets built up by plenty of exercise – that’s why you need a lifetime exposure to plenty of dirt. Your healthy immune system is your savings account for a healthy retirement. If you constantly make withdrawals and live with a negative health balance due to too much stress, too little rest, and too many chemicals, you will arrive at a point where you have no reserves for any catastrophic illness that might lurk in your future. A lifestyle that gives you the food, rest, exercise, and other elements you need for basic good health contributes to a healthy immune response and increases the likelihood of a long, productive life.

Sounds like the perfect prescription to me! So, relax. Let your kids get dirty. Stop trying to sanitize every square inch of your home. And, unwind with a good book (like Why Dirt is Good). It’ll make your whole family healthier and happier.

P.S. My childhood affinity for sucking rocks was likely pica, a medical disorder that can make people hungry for non-food items. Turns out, I’m slightly anemic, so my body was craving iron and hoping to get it from the mineral content of rocks. Pica is not uncommon in children and pregnant women. If you or your child are craving non-food items, talk with your midwife, nutritionist, or physician.

REAL MEN WEAR BABIESOur 2010 mosaic, put together by Danelle Frisbie, is made from 729 photos of babywearing fathers and grandfathers that were sent to us.

Last September, during International Babywearing Week, we asked peaceful parenting dads to send us their babywearing photos. There was such an outstanding response from men around the world, that we'd like to highlight some of the babywearin' fathers and grandfathers here. It is outstanding to see you gently caring for your little ones in a baby-friendly fashion. Keep up the excellent fathering!

It will take some time to get all photos uploaded, but we will continue to add a few more daily, so bookmark this page and check back!
If you have a photo you'd like to add to our gallery, send to: Born2BWorn @ gmail .com

Please Note:Each of these photos was taken by, or given to, peaceful parenting for the exclusive purpose of being used on DrMomma.org. Each photo belongs to the photographer, and no authorization is granted to anyone to copy/use these photos for any reason. Photos are fingerprinted and re-posting is infringement on copyright and stealing. So don't do it! :)